..Thus this method opens up the possibility to repeatedly use museum collections for mtDNA analyses without damaging the specimens and thus without reducing the value of irreplaceable collections for morphological analyses...

..They also agree with recent studies on other extinct and extant species, such as wolves, hyenas and steppe bison, which have also revealed higher genetic and ecological diversity in Pleistocene populations than previously known...

..0 mya, supporting the view that these two groups represent different species. Finally, we found the mitochondrial mutation rate of proboscideans to be roughly half of the rate in primates during at least the last 24 million years...

..Comparison of cave bear and modern bear sequences revealed the evolutionary relationship of these lineages. The metagenomic approach used here establishes the feasibility of ancient DNA genome sequencing programs...